If you are into food rescue, you would have heard of MoNo Foods.
Home to a plethora of short-expiry food products, MoNo Foods has made several relocations in recent years.
Now situated in Yue Hwa Building in Chinatown, co-founder, Leonard Shee, broke the news that the enterprise would once again, have to move out.
MoNo Foods is now looking for a new space to continue their efforts to reduce food waste, but should this search be unsuccessful, it might have to close at the end of June 2024.
Searching for a new space
MoNo Foods has been well-received by the public after nestling in the heart of Yue Hwa Building for over a year.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
However, their stay has to come to an end.
Shee revealed that Yue Hwa will be taking back the space as they are bringing in new goods.
Nevertheless, Shee expressed his utmost gratitude to the building's management who he said has been very supportive of MoNo's cause.
Speaking to Mothership, Shee shared that the biggest challenge for MoNo Foods has always been finding an apt venue, as he has a number of conditions to be met.
MoNo's new location would preferably be an air-conditioned space in a quiet mall located in the central area of Singapore.
This is because a cooling environment is optimal for food storage, and a central location makes it accessible to both the general public and their suppliers.
Shee also explicated that an ideal venue would be one with an area of more than 1,000 sq ft, so as to accommodate the large volume of stocks.
MoNo Foods' mission
For the uninitiated, MoNo Foods is a food sustainability enterprise founded in January 2022.
It is funded by the National Youth Council Singapore (NYC), and focuses on diverting surplus food items from the bin.
Shee explained that MoNo began their efforts during Covid-19 when consumer habits massively shifted to purchasing groceries online.
This caused business at physical retail stores to slow down significantly, resulting in a great amount of unsold food going to waste.
Shee thus wanted to prevent surplus food from going into the trash, and simultaneously support the less privileged by conducting food donations.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
Shee explained to Mothership that they were "not looking at any profit, not looking at how [MoNo Foods] can sustain, but simply the immediate goal of reducing waste."
What can you find at MoNo Foods?
Ranging from cereals to instant noodles to oat milk, most products displayed at MoNo are close to their expiry date, or are past their best-before date, but are still safe to consume.
If you're unsure what's the difference between the two, here's a nifty explainer:
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
Most items at MoNo are also accompanied with handwritten signs to educate and assure the public of their food quality.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
Other interesting items include supplements, with a purchase limit of one bottle per person.
In the interview with Mothership, Shee explained that he would personally reach out to retail companies for permission to take in these items.
They are then approved by brands to be donated before reaching MoNo Foods with usually one to two months of remaining shelf life.
Shee shared with Mothership that few — in fact, only one out of 20 — suppliers would agree to donate their surplus products to MoNo Foods.
Nonetheless, he remains grateful.
In the event that they are met with large quantities of stocks, MoNo Foods sends the surplus to other food rescue groups.
Leftover items that come much closer to expiry dates are promptly given away in public areas such as train stations, or delivered to rental flat residents such as the needy and elderly.
Shee mentioned that residents are usually elated to receive these food items for free.
Some may even excitedly request for more, which the team is beyond happy to comply.
A committed passion
Despite their busy operations, MoNo Foods essentially remains a non-profit, self-sustainable food enterprise.
Shee shared with Mothership that he and co-founder, Lorraine Koh, have their own full-time jobs outside of MoNo Foods, as they juggle between commitments to keep the enterprise afloat.
Nevertheless, MoNo Foods is grateful for the pool of passionate volunteers over the years, and their two diligent interns in the last month.
MoNo Foods also occasionally hosts school excursions to help spread the message on food sustainability to students.
How does one pay for items at MoNo?
If you are keen to support MoNo Foods before its potential closure at the end of June 2024, here's how it works.
MoNo Foods has experimented with multiple payment systems, including a pay-as-you-wish campaign when they first settled into Yue Hwa Building.
At the start, the enterprise experimented with giving away all items for S$1, or providing them at 70 per cent lower than their retail prices.
However, MoNo encountered problems of consumers overbuying and hoarding items, Shee explained to Mothership.
They eventually decided on the current fill-a-box concept. Currently, MoNo Foods is rolling out a fill-a-box challenge as well.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
With a contribution of anywhere between S$10 and S$20, customers get to receive an empty box with a size corresponding to the donation amount.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
After acquiring a box, customers are free to roam the shelves for items to fill the box with.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
As long as nothing falls out of the box upon shaking it, customers may walk home with as many food items as they can fill their box with.
For every S$20 donation, customers are also entitled to spin the wheel to win even more goodies.
Photo from Yap Yee Hui
In light of the store's closure at the end of the month, Shee and his interns shared with Mothership that they will be bringing back the pay-as-you-wish system to clear as many items as possible so they do not go to waste.
This will begin on the last week of June 2024.
MoNo Foods' opening hours
If you would like to head down to support MoNo, here are their details.
Address: Level 2, 70 Eu Tong Sen St, Event Space at Yue Hwa Building, Singapore 059805
Opening hours: 12pm to 8pm daily
If you know a suitable location MoNo Foods can relocate to, you can reach out to them via their Facebook and Instagram.
Top photos from Yap Yee Hui